Paralysis by options

Sophia and I have been trying to get to regular date nights every other week or so. It’s an endeavor every time as we have to figure out a date, find a baby sitter that works, and perhaps the hardest thing… pick the restaurant. It’s a blessing to be in New York with all these food options. A lot of the world’s best restaurants are here and there’s not a cuisine you can’t get in New York. The downside is that I get severe fomo especially now that we have a kid.

Sophia and I get out if we’re lucky twice a month together so we always want to try to maximize our time. That means always trying to book the best restaurants. Sometimes that doesn’t happen and we lose excitement by suggesting some place very damn good but maybe not high on our current list.

Every time we go through this process, we usually take multiple nights to figure things out and go back and forth. It’s a painful process and kind of a sad one to be frank, but it’s a real human thing and we aren’t the only ones who do the same thing.

When I think about this in the business sense — sometimes having too many options and offerings just leads to someone getting overwhelmed and just deciding to do nothing. Simplicity is still king and having one perfect solution beats having 5 good solutions. People naturally will always try to optimize and especially in complex financial situations, sometimes it’s best if you pick the best solution for them.